Embers of a Dying Light
by Vo0d0o-D0L
Summary: A race of Insect humanoids are discovered at the same time as the rachni. Most are killed in the wars of history. Most, but not all. DISCONT. DUE FOR A REBOOT
1. Prologue

**Intro**

_**Year: **__1050(Earth standard)_

_**Location: **__Unknown_

_**Vessel: **__ASEV Jina Mas_

The commander strode about the deck of the ship, eagerly awaiting the report of the ships inertia dampeners as they came out the other side of relay transit.

"Ten seconds!"

The pilot called out, the golden green streaks of light differing from the normal blue hue of eezo travel. True enough, only a couple of moments later (though it felt like an eternity), they were back in real-time, staring inexorably at the void in which they had arrived.

The captain of the vessel was one of the greatest explorers that the Asari could provide and the council had seen fit to send her with some of the best that the galaxy has to offer - Salarian scientists mostly, but there were a good few of her Asari compatriots there as well, but her best friends on board the ship were the security detail. They reminded her too much of herself back when she'd been doing the fighting as a commando - though she'd given that up after a couple of centuries and followed her passion.

"Vera, give me a status update would you?" She said as she looked to the navigations officer, seated next to the pilot.

"Aye commander, one moment." A few seconds passed as the data from the system finished collecting. "Looks like this system is uninhabitable - three gas giants, pretty rare I guess…" Her voice trailed off as she skim-read the rest of the report, mumbling it out before coming to some interesting info. "It seems like there's some kind of signal bouncing around the asteroid belt - I can't get a good read on it, there's too much interference, but I think we should check it out.

"Possible evidence of sentient life" A Salarian 'doctor' said, making the three in the cockpit jump as though he'd appeared out of nowhere. "Would be good idea to send probes in first, no risk to life, need to be sure."

The commander nodded in agreement and her voice rang out over the PA. "Engineering, get to the probe bay, we need you to fire up the systems down there." Moments later a bored sounding 'Right on it' huffed back into the commander's ears.

She didn't normally take that kind of thing, but when you've spent a month on board a spaceship, zipping about from system to system without actually doing anything… it can get pretty taxing.

Behind her, a small crowd gathers at the excitement the signal's discovery had stirred up. All the Salarian's were discussing at length what the signal could mean, although what they were specifically saying, the commander couldn't discern, seeming as they were using Salarian speak - in other words, talking at a hundred miles an hour. Eventually, a call came up from the probe bay that they were good to go.

"Ok, fire a line of five, try to get at different depths in the field, that should let us get a more accurate reading of the signal."

Minutes passed, and the tension in the air only seemed to increase as each probe was launched like a curveball into the depths of the asteroid belt central to the system. Time seemed to stretch out painfully as the final probe was fired and the signal cleared enough that they could get a more accurate reading.

"Uhh…" Vera the navigator said in a confused and slightly anxious tone.

"What? What is it?"

"This isn't a natural asteroid belt." That got the scientist's talking even more furiously than before.

"What do you mean, not natural?" The commander asked, placing a hand on the top of the navigators chair, and the other on the holopanel as she leaned in for a better view.

"From what I can tell at least… Look - the material readings are all wrong for an asteroid belt, and they are one of the most standard things in the galaxy. Then there's the signal which seems like it's originating from one of the larger ones - and a signal like that usually indicates some form of life - even if it's just plant life… And what the hell kind of plant grows with _no atmosphere_?"

"Could be localised, possible use of mass effect field technology, able to create stable environment in otherwise inhospitable living conditions." One of the scientists butted in to the conversation. "Do it all the time with terraforming low level planets. Need to house stable environment for species."

"So this could be-"

"Possible first contact, yes. Though not sure what kind of life we would find. Hard to say without knowledge of atmospheric conditions. Would like to get readings if possible, could help to know what's out there."

The commander quietly agreed - despite her instincts saying otherwise. "Ok, take us in over the asteroid belt, we can get more readings from there."

The ship slowly glided through the empty space between the relay and the massive circle of rocks in the center of the system, and after what seemed like forever, they neared the edge of the asteroid belt.

That was when they noticed the markings.

"What are those?"..."What do they mean?"..."Who do they belong to?"..."Are they still alive?"

The Main deck was abuzz with talk as people nervously and tentatively asked questions about who or what made the markings on the rocks. Clear as day they shone out of the rock against the dark hues of space, a dull glint coming off of the surface clearly defining the runic language, although it looked more like a drawing of curved and straight lines, not quite touching, some more spaced apart than others, reinforcing that it wasn't simply a scribble on the rock by some cosmic being, but rather a message, written by someone - or something far older than any of them that were alive.

They sailed over the top of the asteroid field, careful to stay out of the way of any rocks that might wander their way.

"Can we get a couple more probes in there and find out the signal's origin?" The commander asked and the navigator sent the commands to fire the probes where the signal was strongest.

Moments later and there was a loud pinging noise as the galaxy map zoomed in to their location, and finally zoomed into where the signal was coming from.

It didn't look very special, just an abnormally large asteroid, pock-marked with craters that had been formed by the smaller chunks around it, though as it slowly spun on an invisible axis, an opening could be seen, and there were lights coming out of the inside.

That was it.

"Ok, I want everyone geared up, we're going to go investigate."

Immediately the entire ship was wild with frenzied movements, everyone (the scientists, explorers and security) getting their gear ready, most with light armour and rebreathers to survive the harsh environment they were heading into. Almost half an hour passed before everyone had everything they needed, and they were all squeezed into the airlock.

"Depressurising airlock." The pilot's voice came over the radio net that linked them with the ship. "Opening doors."

It was slow, but at least they weren't getting spaced while they left the ship. One by one, they pushed off from the edge of the ship, steering themselves towards the opening in the asteroid with small jets of pressurised air. The commander was the last to push off, wanting to make sure that everybody was safe as they left. When her feet touched the asteroid though, something felt off about it. It was as though they were being watched.

"I don't like this." An Asari said, her name was Aela - or something of the like - and she was one of the best linguists that the galaxy had.

"Yes, feeling of being watched, disconcerting. Shouldn't be this bad from thin nature of atmosphere. Very exposed here… maybe answers inside." This time it was a Salarian who'd spoken, and had led the small group straight into the asteroid.

They walked in slowly, analysing everything, but after ten minutes they felt the asteroid stirring, as though it was alive.

"Wanda zai shiga ta mulkin?"

A single voice echoed through the small darkness that surrounded them. It was stretched thin and wispy, the slight rasp to the voice giving it the air of someone who was on the precipice of death speaking.

"Sauti! gabãnin nakwance ta firgita kan zukatanku."

At this the crew huddled together in silence, terrified by the disembodied voice, the security team roving their weapons about, looking for where the voice had come from, but it echoed ominously around, not betraying the speaker's location. The commander decided it was best to check on the ship, see if it was still there so they could make a quick getaway if need be.

"_Jina Mas_, you there?" The radio crackled without response. "_Jina Mas, _come in _Jina Mas_, do you read me?" A moment of silence passed before the radio crackled to life.

"We read you commander, what's going on down there?"

"We don't know, be ready to receive us in a hurry if things go badly."

"Aye aye, we haven't moved since you left." Good.

"Me ya sa kake ki amsawa? Dole ne na bayyana ni gare ku?" The voice questioned them, but they had not the faintest idea of what it was saying.

"Sosai, jãhilai dabba. Zan haske hanya." It spoke finally and then the words ceased to come, though there was an eerie sense of foreboding that fell upon the group. Moments later huge insects appeared from nowhere and began to surround them. The commandos got ready to shoot when the insects started to sing.

It was in a similar sort of language to that of the voice, but this seemed to be less… regal somehow, as though these were all the underlings of the voice. What's more strange is that the song began to compel them to move down into the depths of the asteroid. Resist as they may, they couldn't stop themselves from moving further and further into the darkness, where there lay a single light, shining up at them. As they looked back they could just about see the body of the _Jina Mas_, and that gave them some solace.

They entered into a huge cavern,holding hundreds upon hundreds of these insects, some small and scuttering about, some like the ones herding them, others larger and more vicious -looking, finally still others who were huge and had the appearance of tanks, though what looked like the barrel of a gun was, in fact, the tip of their tails that curved up over their bodies and rested, looking like death incarnate.

The group was terrified into silence, but finally the singing stopped and they stood before the light, the insects returning to whatever duties they were performing.

"Saboda haka, wannan shi ne abin da kuka yi kama. Ba za ka leviathan."

There was no way to tell what the voice was saying, and despite it coming from right in front of them, it still seemed to echo around the room in a way that defied the brain.

Suddenly, the light moved onto a what looked like a male Asari, the arms crossed over his chest, long dark crests covered his head, on each crest was a small disk of metal, giving him the appearance of a god-king.

He did not move, neither did his eyes open, but the voice sounded again. "Ku zo kusa. Zan son su koyi daga gare ku."

When they did not respond some sort of silent command emitted from him and the song that had made them all march here started again, although the words seemed slightly different. As it was, only two of the group had been selected by the song. Aela and Dr Solus, who was a renowned astrobiologist, among other things.

As they neared the man lying still as stone in the pod their looks became more and more of terror and fear, but they knew there was nothing that could be done if they wanted to stay alive.

The song changed yet again and now, though they struggled, they couldn't move their feet to move away and their arms were nearing to the man's temples. Almost as soon as contact was made, his eyes opened, and the room fell silent. Not the kind of silent that means that everyone is quiet, I mean _silent._ It was as though someone had literally sucked the noise out of the world for a few moments.

From what the commander could see, his eyes were different colours, blue on the side that Aela was touching and a golden yellow on the side that Dr Solus held his temple.

After a moment everything stopped and sound rushed back into existence, the two that had been forced to touch the man's head now rushed back to the group, cowering slightly.

The man stood slowly, and his form was truly revealed to them. God-King was an apt description. "Now I know who you are, Asari. And you, Salarian." His words were actually coming out of his mouth now, and the echoing quality that they'd had before had vanished. "What do you want from the people of the witch-king?"


	2. Innocent Revelations

_**Chapter1: Innocent Revelations**_

_**Year:**_ **2180**

_**Location: Citadel**_

When once I would have stood out like a elephant in a tutu, now I blend in relatively well with the crowd - after all, I look just like another human.. a rather tall one at that, but still, from a first glance, just a human.

But I'm not. I was there at the uncovering, I was there since 'shekarar da hawaye', the year of tears and at 'na tsoratar game kiran', the harrowing call. It feels strange now, the old adopting the customs of the young, but then that is what happens when you lay hidden for eons, avoiding the accursed creations of a jealous and covetous race.

I wander uninhibited through the early morning crowds on what the signs keep telling me is Kithoi ward. It doesn't look particularly fancy, and thirst for knowledge has driven me to the local school - the Larathos Institution. It's a pretty dreary place really, though I have met some interesting characters there who like to give my days a splash of colour.

First off, was a Krogan called Toska, whose family had renounced the ways of most of their people and although they were trying to have children, only Toska had been born. Surprisingly, his best friend was a Salarian (who was only nine years old) called Shielo Risolor who, despite being so comparatively young, was at the same developmental stage as the others.

Then there were the Asari twins, Arla and Lulis Rani who were always disrupting everyone with their antics, and while sometimes it was rather annoying and my embers started to burn, I reigned myself in and instead looked at the funny side of their jokes and pranks, which, fortunately I had never been on the receiving end of… yet.

Finally was a Turian named Therus Si'ius, who was just about as uptight as you could get, and it never failed to make me smile when Arla or Lulis told him to yank the tree out of his ass.

Today was the final day that any of us would be there, but it was also Therus' twentieth birthday, which apparently is a special sort of birthday.

If you wanted to count how old _I_ was, then you could spend years working it out - but I, myself have forgotten when it was exactly that I came into this life - and what's more impressive than having lived so long is that I haven't tired of life. It's ups and downs, highs and lows, it truly is a spectacle to behold, and I can say that so long as I have lived, I haven't missed a beat.

As I arrived at the gates of the institution, I could see the group that I'd gotten close to in the past year (having joined only then, and lying about my age too) were milling around the outside, waiting for me before we went in together.

I suppose it was either a blessing or a coincidence that we were taking the same classes as each other, though Toska didn't take up any theoretical sciences, only applied science. I came into view of my small group of friends, and we exchanged smiles and greetings as we went in.

…

The day was largely uneventful, partly because nobody wanted to actually do anything, but also partly because none of the teachers had bothered to give anyone anything to do, and some hadn't even bothered to come in to say that their lectures were cancelled.

By the end of the day we were just about ready to prepare for tonight. Believe it or not, we were going to one of the Citadel's more 'up-market' clubs, called Nebula, though it was quite a journey away, being on Bachjret ward.

"Hey, Adiel, do you need a lift to get there?" Arla asked me just before we parted ways for the next couple of hours.

"No, that's ok, It would be easier if you guys could give me an address though."

"Easy - its 8891D. I'm sure you can't miss the huge sign saying '_Nebula'_" Shielo said, exaggerating the nightclub's name as though he were saying the intro to an action movie.

"Ok, I'll see you there in… three hours." I said, chuckling as I checked my watch to see how long I had until the festivities would start.

"Aite, see you later!" They chorused excitedly as I left and made my way quickly back to my apartment, half walking, half jogging the way there.

Occasionally I would receive an odd stare, and I could feel the stare intensify as the offender scrutinised my legs. Although I did look very human when I was clothed, unclothed was an entirely different matter.

To start, my legs were more akin to that of a Salarian's, a Turian's or a Quarian's than they were to a human's, with the way that they my thighs curved forwards slightly more than a human's, and although it wasn't particularly visible, there was a solid shape in the back of my legs where there was an extra part of the limb that made it look as though I had the most enormous calf muscles when I was clothed. My feet were a dead give away, though I kept them completely hidden from view whenever I went out.

And that was to say nothing of the rest of me. My arms were more similar, although they were longer and slightly thinner than a human's. There was even a difference in skin quality that originally had been a huge give away, but with the recent popularity of skin and muscle weaves the difference had decreased. My skin wasn't smooth and slightly haired, it was somewhat hard - though stiff would probably be a better word. It was made up of the same material as Chitin, though instead of growing in great plates, it grew in thin layers, giving me the appearance of skin without technically having any.

My hands and face were also essentially the same, although my hands could have been described as exceedingly bony, and it wasn't directly noticeable, but I didn't have fingernails, just fingers that were more pointed than usual. Not sharp like talons, but still sharp enough to make it not noticeable.

My face however, was what made me blend in so well, and that is what I was thankful for. It was essentially the same as any human that you could meet on the street nowadays (who were highly gene-modded to enhance their appearances). My eyes may have been slightly deeper set, and my cheekbones more prominent than normal, but there wasn't anything too garish about me that would suggest I was actually an alien... At least, not from a distance.

My torso would also have been a dead give away, seeming that if I were a human, it would seem as where each of the muscle groups lay, a plate was covering it, giving me a sort of permanently muscular look, but there was also a slight colouration difference between the muscle plates and the gaps, as the plates were of a slightly lighter hue.

The light brown of my 'skin' also gave me a more human look, and although my eyes weren't in the norm, cybernetics were also very common which gave me an excuse for their bright orange glow. The only inconspicuous part about me was my hair. At least, that's what it looked like, though in reality it was more akin to a famous 20th Century invisible alien hunter, as each my 'dreads' were more like a solid strand than large clumps of individual hairs.

Still, I was undeniably pleased that I'd been able to keep my origins hidden from everyone around me for the few years that I'd been living on the Citadel. In fact, once the humans had revealed themselves to the Galaxy, it was just my luck that I at least looked marginally similar to them and I've managed to pull off being hidden in plain sight almost as long as humans have been around.

…

As I unlock the door to my apartment I can hear sniggering, and I turn around to see a couple of young teenagers out in the hall with their backs to me, it looks like they're playing with something so I ignore them and head inside, moving to the bathroom so I can have a shower before getting ready.

Turning the shower on, I let the water heat up before I decide to get in, already having stripped down to nothing. It's a short wash, though I let the hot water soak into my skin greedily and let the steam relax my muscles, calming myself from the excitement of the party. For some reason I feel nervous, though I can't exactly say why… It's not as though anything especially dangerous or exciting is going to happen, after all, we are only going to a nightclub.

...

An hour later and I'm all ready to go, so I get in an elevator that's heading up towards the rooftops after carefully shutting and locking my apartment, throwing the keys, along with a jacket into a rucksack. You might think that it's an odd choice, to go up instead of down, but if you could travel like I do, then you'd understand.

When I reach the roof, I take off the shirt that I'm wearing, and put that into my bag as well before slinging it over my shoulders and move to the building's edge, starting to concentrate. The cold wind that rushes around me in the dizzying heights of the Citadel's arms is distracting and nearly makes me topple off the edge, but I'm not looking for cold.

Finally, I find a spark and cling to it, kindling it into a fire that rages inside me. Suddenly, light bursts through my skin through jagged breaks and I feel the energy and power that's inside of me. Arching my back I can feel my wings break through my back, spouts of fiery energy that extend further than my arm span.

From my bag I grab a rebreather and cover my head with it, giving me oxygen enough to breath on the journey. And then I fall. I let myself tip over the edge and I can feel the insane gush of wind bracing against me. A couple of skycars see me since they swerved out of the traffic flow and for a moment it looked as though one of them would catch me, but I pulled up and swerved away, my 'omni-tool' glowing around my wrist with directions to the club.

The tinted windows of the skycars mean that I can't see the reactions of whoever was in there, but I begin to play some music and chuckle to myself lightly, knowing that it would have been one of shock seeing what looked like a man falling to his doom from the heights of a Citadel apartment block, before suddenly being carried away by two orange blurs.

_**Toska**_

Toska was one of the last ones of the group to arrive. He _had_ meant to ask Adiel for a ride over here, but when the time had come he didn't really know what to say.

While Toska was by no means stupid, he wasn't fond of relying on other people for anything, so if he ever did need to, he usually forgot to ask or the words seemed to get stuck in his mouth. When he did arrive though, he could see that it was only Therus who had yet to join them.

"Here early for a change Adiel?" Toska's deep voice boomed from the skycar access way as he left the taxi.

Adiel laughed saying "Look who's talking?" in return and they greeted each other with a hug, each one delivering enough force that would probably crush anyone smaller.

That was what Toska found strange about this human. Adiel looked human enough, even if he was the same height as some of the larger krogan - though he didn't share in their mass… But he didn't smell the same as other humans. He didn't even smell soft like the others… well, apart from Therus anyway. He had brought it up to the others a couple of times, but they waved it away, saying it was something to do with how his parents had given him genemods and the like, and although Toska didn't quite believe it, he didn't really focus on it unless they grappled in any way, shape or form because it wasn't too noticeable otherwise.

The group chatted idly about what they were going to now that they'd finished, and unsurprisingly Arla and Lulis were heading away to Thessia to start their own businesses. What sort of trouble they would get up to no one had any idea, but everyone decided that they would stay in contact with them - after all, having people you know on Thessia can get you a long way in the Galaxy.

Adiel was rather unsure with what to do afterwards, but that he'd had enough of learning and wanted to do something more geared towards action, so was thinking of doing detective work.

Shielo said that he was going to follow in his father's footsteps and become a xenobiologist, but he did mention that he's always dreamed of doing work for the STG. How he's 'always' dreamed of it when he isn't even old enough for double digits is kind of weird - especially seeming as Toska, Arla and Lulis are nearing thirty.

Toska also wanted to do something which entailed action, his youthful spirit going against his parents wishes, but it was also partly because Toska had yet to do a rite of passage, and he was beginning to have uncontrolled outbursts of anger, from which people could only just scramble out of the away.

Almost half an hour after the time that they said they were going to meet, everyone started to get a bit restless, wanting to go inside for a drink and a dance, when Therus showed up, stepping out of the skycar. He smiles and nods and one by one we head into the club.

Its funny - because of the different life spans of every race, people stopped caring about the age that you went in to the club. If you looked too young to be drinking though you didn't get served by the barman, and if you got drunk enough you got chucked out by a couple of krogan bouncers.

Without knowing quite what to do to start with, everyone headed to an empty booth and Adiel and Toska went to the bar to get the drinks. Toska ended up with a jug of Ryncol, while they got the ladies some red from Illium, Therus had dextro brandy and Adiel had a large glass of something called scorpion tail, while Shielo had a non-alcoholic drink ('_Mustn't damage self, brain most vital organ, would like to drink something though'_).

…

…

The drink that I'd been getting was supposedly one of the stronger drinks that humans could safely drink - in fact it was also safe for Asari, but Arla and Lulis didn't like the sound of it so they steered away.

Despite this, I'd had several of them and I was only just beginning to feel light headed. By now, the girls were on the dance floor after having dragged Therus and Shielo with them, all the time swaying to the thumping music that was banging through my eardrums.

Torkas had almost finished his second jug of ryncol (having chugged the entirety of the fist one down in one swig) and had slowed down after that… well, after getting up for a refill and almost toppling flat on his face, which had caused everyone - even the people around us - to laugh.

"Adiel can I ask you something?" Torkas said, eyeing me while he took another krogan sized sip from his jug.

I was a little hesitant, as anyone would be, having a krogan wanting to ask them a question. "Sure." I say noncommittally with a shrug.

"Why do you smell funny?"

"I have no idea Toska you big lump, now come on. Let's go dance!" I not so deftly avoid the question, but he doesn't seem to care to ask again and glugs down the rest of his jug before we both stand up, waver a little bit, finding our balance from the sudden lack of blood in our heads and move towards the others on the dance floor, the pounding music feeling more and more infectious all the time.

As I move to the beat, a small hand is put on my chest and as I get pushed to the edge of the dance floor I see that its a pretty looking human girl. She's short - or at least, looks it to me, and her eyes flash emerald while her hair floats chestnut brown behind her back, her features seeming to fill my vision as she stares into my eyes and when I reach the wall, she pulls down on my shirt, bringing me to her level and I feel the soft sensation of our lips touching.

I'm not entirely sure what's going on - whether this is actually happening or not, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts all the same.

Just our lips proves to be not enough for her when our tongues meet and begin to dance with each other, and even then it seems not to be enough as I caress her back, my hands roving, and she reaches forwards, one hand still on my chest as though it were glued there and while the other clutches at my groin, feeling the stiffness that has appeared before her touch.

I don't notice the C-sec officers entering, I'm too distracted, but a couple of them stand by the entrance and are scanning people as they exit, while a few others have head into the club and are searching for something.

I only notice them when our lips part and she pulls my head close by and whispers - well, shouts over the music - "I want you."

Looking down at her I can see that she's got a sultry smile on her face and the slight frown on my own disappears when I'm caught by her eyes again, being replaced by a smile of my own. I'm too distracted to see that one of the guards is watching me intently. He could have been mistaken for a bit of an oddball, watching a couple of people making out, but he was eyeing me closely as I lost myself in her touch and the fire inside of me started to break out.

Some people dancing around us didn't care, but others who weren't quite as drunk as they might have liked saw and backed away in disgust as jagged tears appeared in my skin, emitting a deep orange light as though fire was pouring out of my skin.

We stood there for a moment, and I was happy just to sway gently as she put both her hands around my neck and pulled me in again.

A few seconds passed away like this and then Therus pulled us apart, and could see my own small crowd surrounding me, an almost angry look on their faces but for the most part it was shock.

"What the hell is going on?" Lulis said, tentatively reaching out to touch one of the cracks in my skin.

Comprehension dawns on me and although I gently move her arm out of the way, I'm panicking, my heart racing and looking around us I stammer, saying "I..I can't tell you here." Looking over their shoulders I can see that there's a couple of officers looking straight at me and I know exactly what I need to do now. "Meet me at my flat."

I leave then, in a hurry, though not running. If someone were to look at me they may say that it looked as though I'd left something important behind. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best move, but there was no way I was gonna get taken into some cell to be persecuted like the rest of my people.

Having left my bag in the locker room I go and collect it, and as soon as I have it I head to the exit, slinging it over one shoulder. By now the cracks in my skin have sealed again - panic tends to do that - and I walk passed the two guards at the exit. I can hear the scanner going off, and one of them stops me from exiting proper.

"You don't come up on the DNA scanner. Wanna tell me why that is?" The pair was a Human and a Turian. There wasn't a real answer that I wanted to give to them so I just shrugged and mumbled 'I don't know'.

"I'm thinking you got some illegal mods in you. And it looks like you do too. So, you got two options. Maybe you can convince us to let you go if you tell us where you got them, or you can stay silent and we'll take you in." I turn my head slightly and I can tell that the other guards in the club are right behind me, arms folded in a threatening gesture.

"How about you just let me go?" I ask trying to seem innocent, but I can't help the tones of annoyance coming through my voice.

The Turian stopping me from leaving nods to one of the guards behind and I feel my arms being trapped as his taloned hands come up around my shoulders, and lock behind my neck. I know that a fight is unavoidable now if I want to get away, so I launch myself backwards, landing on the Turian behind me and it breaks his hold, allowing me to spring backwards onto my feet.

I look around me, dropping into a combat stance and now the krogan bouncers have joined the Csec guards, making it seven on one.

They make the first move. Two of the guards come at me wielding concussive batons. I move in to block one, and I drag his wielding arm over him as I roll on his back, dodging the other guard's swipe and directing it into the guard I rolled over.

They look at me in anger and surprise, but I don't give them time to react, launching a sweeping kick at the next nearest guard who rushes in quickly. He hits the floor with a loud _oof_ and I can hear the air rushing out of him. To take him out of the fight with a swift strike to his neck. hard. It won't kill him, but he will definitely not be in fighting condition for a while.

six left.

They've surrounded me again, and on some silent signal they all rush in. I launch a powerful kick at the knee of one of the human guards and it bends backwards sickeningly, and he falls to the floor in agony while I matrix underneath another guards attack and drop to the floor when a third takes my leg out from under me. I roll out of the way as quickly as I can, barely missing being crushed by a krogan stomp. I cover my head as they start to kick me on the floor, but I ignore it best I can, finding the spark and using it to ignite the fuel that's been building up for centuries.

The cracks spread more readily across my body now, their light like an ethereal flame dancing across my skin.

Islam my fists into the floor, releasing a shockwave just before a boot would have landed on my face and the guards are sent sprawling outwards. I noticed that the music had stopped abruptly. Everyone in and out of the club was watching the fight. Some were even taping it on their omni tools.

I ignored them and took the opening that id made, sprinting out of the open club doors and flinging myself over the edge of the rapid transit terminal, sprouting wings as I fell and pulling my rebreather on as I felt the atmosphere thin out and suddenly stop when I left the mass effect field surrounding the ward.

...

It was an hour or so before I heard the knock on my door. I looked keenly through the eyehole in the door and opened in slight relief as they had arrived like I asked.

"Have you seen this?" Shielo asked, turning on the tv and putting the news channel up as the headlines were showing.

_**"In other news, a fight broke out early this morning at club nebula in the Bachjret ward." **_The Asari spokeswoman said as an image of an on scene reporter next to her appeared and enlarged as she spoke. "_**Yes, there were several officers and two of the club's bouncers involved, but the suspect was not apprehended. Several eyewitnesses have testified. Both cctv and amatuer footage of the early morning brawl has been released to Csec officers to analyse the situation."**_ The screen changed to video footage of the fight. "_**When Officers tried to arrest the suspect on suspicion of illegal genemods, the suspect lashed out, leaving one officer with a broken leg, and one other with a collapsed trachea,. Both are in medical care and we have been told their condition is stable. The other officers were engaged by some form of biological weapon, which appears to be some form of biotics."**_ Suddenly the footage changed and the view was one of outside the club. "_**As well as cctv footage, eyewitness accounts say that the man 'Leapt over the edge' of a nearby sky car terminal, and proceeded to 'fly away.'"**_ The footage ended and the reporters came back onto the tv. "_**Csec are issuing a station wide alert for the arrest of this man-" **_A slightly blurred picture of me came up onto the screen, obviously hastily taken and enlarged from the video. "_**He is considered to be a highly dangerous individual. If you-"**_

Shielo turned the tv off again with the touch of a button, and they swarmed around me, demanding answers.

"OK!" I almost yell, giving in to their peer pressure. "Give me a second." I leave them standing in the main room and head to my bedroom, where I strip - not naked, but enough to show my features.

All the while I can hear people banging on my door, shouting at me to come out and go with them peacefully. That's what you get for making conversation every once in a while.

Ignoring the banging on my door, I head back out. Just before I round the corner, I take a deep breath. This is the first time that they will know just who I am, and I've known them and lied to them all the while - It is not something that I am proud of, but it had to be done. For selfish reasons. I march out, head lowered, but not nervously so.

I can see shock on their faces - well, on everyone's except for Toska. He at least had a sense that I wasn't who I said I was… but even so. I don't think any of them were quite prepared for it. I stood there, not quite naked as day and they could see my true form.

It felt like an age before anyone spoke, and when they did, it was still shaky. "All this time… You-you've been this?" It was Arla, and she was looking at me not in disgust, but rather in betrayal.

"I kept myself hidden for so long. I… I didn't realise it could end this way."

"Sooo…" Therus said, question in his voice. "What _are_ you?"

I spend a few moments deliberating before I answer. "To be quite honest, I'm not sure whether or not I should tell you, or show you."

They spare a glance at each other before they gather in closer, the knocks on the door still coming occasionally.

"Fuck it. We don't have long." I say as I grab hold of the two closest to me, Shielo and Therus and a drag them closer, putting their hands to the side of my head.

For a second, they struggle. But as I can feel the eons of my history being poured into them, they waver, and after a couple of seconds, I release them, letting them totter backwards. Therus goes and sits heavily on my couch, while Shielo falls to the floor, his eyes shaking manickly, mumbling to himself as though he'd gone insane.

I reach out for the Arla and Lulis next, though they seem afraid of what I've done. "It's like a mind meld. Only you can't hide anything."

Reaching out again, I they tentatively take my hand and I place them on the side of my head, just like before. A few seconds later and the cycle has been repeated, although now both twins step backwards in wonder, slight gasps leaving their mouths every few seconds as they come across some new event in my history.

Finally, I take both of Toska's hands and place them against my head. I suppose he takes it the best, partly because despite Krogans' tendency to kill each other, no one really knows how long they can live for. Some theorise that they are in fact a sentient form of biological immortality, somewhat similar to the Earth lobster, and much like my own race.

Ten minutes pass and I can hear sirens outside. I leave them in the main room again and get dressed, clothes that cover myself as inconspicuously as I can, as well as grabbing a good size duffel bag and throwing important things inside, spare clothes, credit chits, that sort of thing.

And then the door breaks open.

_**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed/fav/followed right from the beginning. I wasn't sure what kind of reception this would get, but I'm grateful for the support!**_

_**Don't forget to leave any comments you like (but if you're going to criticise, make it constructive please)**_

_**Also, this is going to be written in between my fairly hectic work schedule (I go to an Art College which sucks up a LOT of time) but there should be one or two updates every weekend if I can manage it.**_

_**Ta Ta For Now!**_

**(/^_^)/ ****_Voodoo_**


	3. Dearly Departures

The door slammed open as several officers entered the room.

All I could hear was their surprise that the place was occupied. And they started asking questions about me. I could hear a couple of them searching the flat, upending anything that could be of use to them.

I took cover against my wall, out of sight from the open doorway as I heard a guard approaching.

"Jameson! Get over here, we need to scan these guys. Looks like they've been doing narcotics. Do a quick scan and get them loaded into the cruiser.."

"Yes boss" I hear come from the doorframe, and the guard marches away again. More hurried now, I finish emptying my room of what I need and all that's left is to wait and see if the officers decide that I'm not here and leave.

"They're clean sir." I hear 'Jameson' say about five minutes later.

"The hell are they clean, _look at them!_"

"Sir, I've done the scans three times now, they're clean. They've got some pretty funky brain patterns though…"

I can hear the first officer sighing audibly. "Alright, check the building - we don't want him getting loose."

One of my 'friendly' neighbours must have called them to say I was here.

I wasn't sure how many officers there were, though apart from the two that were holding my friends, it sounded like there was a good number from the crashes that could be heard. Before long the steps were outside my room again and I flatten myself back against the wall, silently swinging my bag over my shoulder and across my body.

"Looks like someone's been here recently boss." I can hear the voice clear as day, though it seems to bounce around the rest of my apartment.

"Well go check it out, scan for clues. You don't need my help to do that do you?"

The guy outside my door started muttering angrily under his breath as he walked in. He didn't see me immediately, but having noticed me he was about to call out when my hand shot out and grabbed his throat, the only evidence that the cracks were glowing was the light in my eyes and the dim glow from under my clothes.

He still managed to get off a squeal, the noise escaping his mouth was like a stuck pig.

"Jamie? You ok?" Shit. I could hear the other officer getting closer and I decided on a plan of action.

I threw 'Jamie' back out through the door and hadouken!'d the window, orange tongues dancing around the ball of energy that I'd thrown.

I heard the officers step back in surprise, a small yelp as the body of their comrade was thrown into the main room, followed by a swirling mass of orange energy, black currents dancing through it.

I waited a second until the window shattered, and then I threw myself around the corner, not giving the officer any time to pull his weapon on my and running through the open window, landing flat against another apartment building and sliding down it, gaining speed all the while.

When I neared the ground level, I pushed myself away from the wall, and a moment later I slammed into the ground, the once smooth surface distorted and bent oddly. I realised suddenly that I wasn't wearing any shoes.

Oh well.

I looked around me and mercifully my immediate area was empty, though that was due to a police cordon of the area., and crowds had begun to gather at the barrier. I looked to my right and where I knew there was a small alleyway. It too had police tape over it, but the officer who'd been near it had been called away.

The officers started to react to my presence now. I had to move. As they got to me I tore off, phasing through the holotape and racing down the alleyway, riding up the walls whenever there was a turn in the alley. I could feel the officers chasing me, their loud breathing made sure I knew it.

We'd been running through the alley for about five minutes when it opened up again, and everywhere I looked there were directions to different bays of the spaceport. Good, I need to leave this place. I heading off to the right, not any real idea as to where I was heading, but it looked as though there were a couple of frigates there, and that is just what I needed.

I could hear shouting from the officers behind me as I weaved through the crowds of people ahead of me, though for the most part people got out of the way. My lungs were burning when finally I found a with a decent looking ship that was gearing for leaving the citadel. I went as fast as I could to the airlock, and I tore open the emergency port, and crawled my way onto the ship. I could hear the clamps disengaging just as the emergency port sealed itself, making the ship once again airtight.

I had no idea whose ship it was, but it looked fairly powerful, so, if I was forced to guess, I would say it was military, though the similarity in most of the ship designs confused me for which species it belonged to.

As I crawled my way into the belly of the beast as it were, I began to hear voices echo through the maintenance ways where someone was having a conversation outside one of the ducts.

I did my best to ignore it, I wanted to find the hangar bay, though I realised that if I wanted to stay hidden, it would probably be best if I waited till night to come out of the ducts. Therefore I closed my eyes and wearily, I laid my head back.

...

...

I woke with a start.

The ship was silent sure, and I was fortunate enough to have not been discovered by a serviceman, though now I had to leave the tiny space and find somewhere suitable to stay until we reached a planet. Any would do.

Tentatively I crawled onwards, and I got out at the nearest maintenance duct I could find, and the room it came out at was empty. Well, empty of any sign of life at least. Servers cluttered the walls and long, thick cables wound their way across the floor like some strange looking snake.

"Must be in the computer core…" I mutter to myself. Bringing myself to the door, I head up to it, and try to listen through it to see if there is anyone on the other side.

I can't hear anything so I press the open switch and the doors part, their semi silent hiss permeating the air. I come out into a large pure white room with beds and mechanical arms on one side, and a desk that stretches the length of the room on the other. There are a couple of people groaning lightly on the beds, each suffering from something different to the other.

_Medbay_ I think to myself, trying to be extra silent, though the clacking of my feet on the metallic flooring makes it difficult to do.

There is a small observation window in the wall with the desk and I peer through it, trying to see if the outside room is clear.

It is, but I can only tell because of the darkness outside, getting my own reflection in the window as small lights light the outside room. Stepping out into the main hall I can see a large curved window that lets a blue light seep through and stain the colours of the hall.

I follow the hallway around the curved glass, peering down into it. That is the first sign of anyone, an engineer on the night shift, making sure that the ship isn't going to explode while everyone lay sleeping. I their silhouetted figure makes it difficult to tell what they are, but I guess human or Asari from the way their arms and legs look.

Suddenly, my omni tool beeps loudly and I curse under my breath as I stop the noise as quickly as I could. Glancing at it I can see that it's a message from Arla. I'll answer it later, when I'm not in sight of everyone.

I move further down into the ship, going around the window that looks into the engine room, and coming to a new set of doors and windows.

I read the labels above the doors and saw that I was in a living area, as there were both toilets and sleeping quarters. I knew now that I was on a human ship - although where I was heading, I had not a clue.

I looked left and saw that a door was opening, so I quickly hid around the corner, letting the pale blue light mask my features against the wall. I heard another set of doors open, so I risked peeking, and I could see that whoever had come out of the doors had gone into the sleeping quarters, the doors closing lazily behind them. The doors that they came out of however, were still open, leading into a small elevator.

As quickly and quietly as I could, I got into it and after a quick look at the floors I pressed the lowest one. That led to the engineering deck, and I was certain that I would be able to find somewhere to stow away for the duration of my journey.

…

When the doors opened, immediately I could see a set of stairs leading down into the very lowest point of the ship, and there was only dim red lighting that seeped up from there. It was perfect.

I stored my things behind some piping, where there was a large enough gap for me to squeeze into if anyone had to come down this way, and I sat against the wall, letting out a quiet sigh of relief, unheard against the thrum of the engine. Deciding that I was now safe, I opened up the message that Arla had sent me.

_**From:**_ _Arla_R_

_We're hoping you're ok. We got detained and they interrogated us - nothing too bad - but none of us have any idea where you've gone, so we couldn't help them if we wanted to._

_Therus' dad came by and took him off the citadel. He's gone to take him into the army I think, but I'm not sure._

_Me and Lulis can't stay on the Citadel anymore… Not that we'd want to anyway. Place is far too uptight.. Anyway, we've booked transport to Thessia - we'll get there in a couple days._

_Shielo's changed his plans - he's having trouble coping with everything that's happened. He's gone off to join some Asari research team in the prothean ruins. He became an expert overnight… not really sure how it happened, but he's leaving tomorrow - heading to Mars with a bunch of other scientists._

_Haven't heard from Toska since we got released, but I'm sure he's ok. He's probably at some restaurant eating all the food._

_I hope you're ok._

_Speak to us soon,_

_Arla._

I consider replying, but I'm not sure whether or not I should just yet, seeming as I'm a stowaway at the moment, but I decide to send her a quick message.

_Arla, I'm fine. Managed to get off the Citadel on a human ship._

_I'm sorry I lied all these years, but If you were in my position, you'd do the same. I don't know how long it will take, but I need to get home. It's time to step into the light._

_I hope to see you again one day,_

_Vejr (Adiel)_

As I sent it off I felt my head lean back against the piping and I stayed there, still as stone, time speeding up around me as I sat, meditating on my thoughts.

…

…

I wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed since I'd stowed away on the ship. Only once had someone delved into the bowels of the ship, and even then it was just for a couple of minutes to alter some settings before leaving again. I had a couple of times gone and stolen some food from the living quarters during the night hours, but I didn't need much.

Suddenly a voice rang out across the ship. "_Approaching Arcturus, Captain. Admiral's hailing us."_

"_I'm heading to the comm room now, Jones. Open up the channel."_ A second voice replied, carrying authority and power with it. Envy creeps up inside me, but I push it back down. I can't afford to be jealous of power now.

An hour or so later and I can feel the ship shudder as it gets clamped into place. Another space station.

I wait a few more hours before I decide that I'm going to risk leaving now. I head into the hangar bay, which is only the floor above me, and I see that it's far more expansive than I would have imagined, and I can see two shuttles on side, while a large tank is situated on the other. The room appears to be empty, though my guess is that unauthorised departures would alert everyone on the ship.

I risk it though and approach one of the shuttles. Locked. Checking the other I see that it is in the same state as the first, so I decide to hack my way into it. After about a minute of configuring the lock on my omnitool, the segments floating around my hand like a shattered record, the door opens, and I rush inside, throwing my bags into the personnel area and move into the pilots chair, sealing the door behind me.

I have no idea how to fly one of these shuttles, but I take a wild guess, thinking that sky cars are piloted much the same, and to my fortune, the engines whine into life.

"Uhh.. Shuttle one, what's going on, you aren't scheduled for departure." A voice fills the cockpit of the shuttle, but I ignore it, turning my attention to the unopened shuttle bay. "Shuttle one, come in. Is there anyone in shuttle one?"

I work as fast as I can, working my way through layers of security to get the shuttle unclamped, and as the shuttle hovers in mid air, the engine keeping it steady, I start working on the shuttle doors below, so I can pilot it out of the hangar.

All the while I can hear reports outside the shuttle, voices ringing over the PA, though no one has tried to evict me by force yet.

"Shuttle one, come in dammit, what's going on down there?" The pilot almost yells into the comms.

"I need to borrow this. I'll bring it back when I have the chance." I say into the comms as the shuttle bay doors open, and I maneuver the shuttle out of the ship and away into space.

"Dammit, Shuttle one!" I cut the channel as I speed away from the ship, heading back to the relay.

As I towards the monolithic structure, I bring up a galaxy map from the copilot's side of the cockpit and set a travel vector.

"Time to go home." I say as the shuttle is enveloped in energy and is thrust forwards.

Time passes seemingly intermittently, as I wait aboard the shuttle to reach my destination. This is the third time that I've felt the shuttle rocked by the energy of the relays, and It feels as though it's about to fall apart, though fortunately I don't need to test the shuttle's survivability anymore.

The energy surrounding the shuttle dies away suddenly, and I'm left staring at a system with two planets. I'm still far from home, but a sense of familiarity dawns on me, turning my lips into a gentle smile as I prepare the shuttle for a jump.

The journey stretches out somehow as the bleak grey light of FTL travel sets itself around the shuttle, and it feels as though days pass before the scene changes back into the cosmos, a new system to behold.

…

_**Meanwhile, Arcturus Station**_

"No, Admiral, I didn't know he was on board the ship. Had I known, I would have returned to the Citadel and dropped him off there."

"Yes, well. Time for all that later. Has the signal been lost?"

The Alliance brass were somewhat infuriated that one of their shuttles had been hijacked right under their noses, and of course no one but the crew of the _SSV Lenitz_ and the admiralty board knew of the mishap to try and keep it under wraps.

"No sir," One of the navigators on board the _Lenitz_ replies. "It appears to have settled in the Hawking Eta cluster, though we'd have to get in closer for a more accurate reading."

The admiral nods in approval. "Very well, set a course for the cluster. I want my ship back, and I want to know who the hell it is that stole it."

…

…

I land the shuttle on what once was a garden world, lush vegetation would still be growing if it weren't for the fighting.

Although I'm wearing the rebreather, I've shed most of my human clothes. There's no point in staying covered with no one here to see me. Besides, the air is still warm and while it is heavy, there are no clouds of rain to settle the hostile air.

I walk through a dead forest, the plants brittle and dry, much like the ground. This isn't home anymore. I sigh internally, gazing at the skeleton of a city, looming ahead and looking as though it were the shattered remains of some cosmic giant.

A maelstrom of emotions overcomes me, there is nothing left… And I'm left wondering at myself as to why I even thought that coming here would be a good idea. I kneel on the ground as ash is swept around by the occasional breeze. It covers everything, as far as the eye can see, there is nothing but the dull colours of a burnt world.

I scream at the sky, to little effect. It's not like anyone can hear me, but rage fuels my fire and I lay down the cloak of fear that I've lived in for most of my life. I can feel the cracks in my skin deepening, widening. I can feel my body changing slightly, my features becoming more pronounced as raw energy bursts through, and for the first time, I feel the remnants of a majesty that was destroyed long ago.

My wings are now fully spread, two new ones bursting forth, and I take to the skies. I don't soar like a bird, but rather flit like an insect, and as I zip over empty city streets I feel all the more rage at what has become of my planet. The air feels heavy, and the ground shakes, making a new tower collapse. Even after all these years though, hope comes that the planet is not dead.

I set myself atop a tower, and look at my surroundings.

Suddenly, I am reminded of a piece of human writing, and I shout the words into the empty lanes below.

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Though, all that really happens is I begin to fall into despair myself, lost in the complete desolation of what was once, long ago, my home.

…

I headed back to the shuttle after I recovered, and set it to scan for any kind of signal. Just as the sun is setting through the ghostly remains of the city, the shuttle picks up a signal coming from orbit.

_**On board the SSV Lenitz**_

"Captain Anderson, why do you think he came here?"

"Not sure Admiral… But this planet feels off. Lieutenant Alenko, what's the history of this place, any idea?" The Captain said as he stroked his chin, watching as the lieutenant brought up the on-board codex and scanned for the planet.

"Here we are Captain. Says the planet used to be a garden world inhabited by a civilisation from early scans. Nothing left though, just debris."

That bought the Admiral's interest. "So, why come to a dead planet…" He thought out loud as his eyes squinted out of the cockpit and at the pock-marked world.

"I think we should ask him that." Alenko said, an unveiled tone of interest in his voice.

"Set the ship down beside the shuttle, it's likely that he's using it as a small base."

"Small?" The Admiral said in jest. "Damn thing's tiny!"

It was a few slow moments before their descent into atmosphere became slow enough that the friction of the air didn't eat away at their shields, but after that their descent was quick enough.

"Sir, shuttle's engines are offline but I'm reading power sources. Initial scans show that the exterior is just about ready to collapse."

"From what?"

"It could be that getting here, the inertia dampeners have taken too much of a beating. They did their job, but they're gonna need replacing if that thing is gonna fly again."

The admiral sighed heavily. "Of course some idiot has to take a _shuttle_ through the relay system. I'm surprised it's even intact."

"Well, whoever that "idiot" is, brought us right on top of what might be the oldest settlement in existence. Not to mention these weird energy readings that I got when we passed the planet's moon."

Both Alliance brass leaned in as they looked at the logged scan.

"I dunno, it might just have been a glitch in the scanners as we passed, without looking into more there's no way to know for sure what it was.

"Save it for later lieutenant. I want to know who has my ship. Anderson, prep the ground team and get an engineer down there as well, I want to salvage that thing as much as possible."

"Aye, sir"

…

Without a spaceport, the landing takes slightly longer than normal, but when the pilot found a clearing big enough for the ship, he set her down easily and he let the hangar bay doors drop, becoming a ramp for the crew.

They'd landed some ways from the shuttle, not having anywhere to land had caused them to move further away from it then they liked, but there wasn't much say in the matter.

There were three of them in the ground team, though that number doubled once you including and the brass and the engineer

The soldiers didn't have their weapons raised - there wasn't _any_ sign of life, just the hollow husks of trees that stood tall and bleak, the brittle, bone-white colour standing out against the darkening sky making them look like prison bars.

After a few minutes of trudging over ashen lands they came to a crater, one that had been worn down relentlessly by time, but it still bore the unmistakable traits of mass accelerator rounds.

"What the hell happened here?"

"Orbital bombardment. Whoever it was living here did something mighty bad to piss people off this much."

"Or perhaps we did the only thing that we could do, in the face of a tyranny." The new voice made them all jump - the ground team had gotten lax knowing that there weren't any combat threats around, and that had made the others feel comfortable enough to relax as well.

When they turned around they saw who the voice belonged to.

It was a huge bipedal creature, Its legs were long and staggered like an insect's, its torso looked too thin at the base but it sported plating that defined the muscle groups, it's arms looked stretched and thin, but were covered in wiry muscle, and then there was the face. If not for all the other features, you might've confused it for a human, so real were the similarities. But there were still differences enough to make it seem _alien_, and what looked like dreadlocks on his head was more like long thick pieces of plating, where a gilded ring lay was set at even intervals, giving him a look of majesty, despite the dirty clothes that he was wearing.

Finally, there were his burning orange eyes, and the throes of colour that emerged from his skin, creating a fascinating pattern across his body, seemingly outlining each muscle group, their dangerous hues dancing around the soldiers.

"Welcome to Mawgarin, and the ashes of my home."

…

…

For a few moments, I thought that the soldiers were going to shoot me, their rifles raised as soon as they heard my voice, though how they didn't see me as I walked up to them, an orange glow being cast around me, I'll never know.

"Who are you?" One of the braver soldiers asks as he keeps his rifle trained on me.

"Normally there would be consequences for your insolence, human." I say, my voice imperial and dominating, its depth piercing the fading light around us. "But, I am the voice of a species lost by time. I am the spark that lights the fire. I am the vengeance of my people." I couldn't help but not feel right about this. It was as though there was something else compelling me to speak, like there was a tempest of voices somewhere in my head, just out of earshot, but putting the words into my mouth. "If you're looking for a name, I am Vejr, the last witch-king."

The soldiers look at each other as though I were a crazy person, and I'm inclined to agree with them on this. Something doesn't feel quite right. It takes a while for any of them to even move their mouths again, but after a couple of minutes one of them begins to speak again.

"What happened here? What are you?"

"My race was slowly obliterated by the jealous machinations of another race. They called themselves Leviathan. They destroyed my homeworld, and scattered us thinly across the darkness of space. In time, we collected again, gathered ourselves and braced against the crushing cyclic return of their machines. Though they faded into oblivion, their creations continued to scour the galaxy and cleanse it for the cycle to be repeated." I get worried looks as I talk, but I push them aside. "Not long ago, we came across the race called the Protheans. In their early days we shared with them what we had, and we had peace. But their empirical nature sought to subjugate or destroy us, and we were lessened. Once again cast into the dark and left for time to heal. It was only about a thousand years ago when we were woken from our slumber and brought into war. Our subjects, those who identified with us, stood beside us. Though I hardly believe that we were counted apart from them, merely as a part of the whole."

I could see them doing the math in their heads, and I waited until one of them finally came up with the courage to speak. "Are you saying that you were in the Rachni wars?" It was the grizzled one, and as he spoke he cocked his head slightly, tone both amazed and curious.

"How could I not have been?" I ask rhetorically, before continuing, nodding my head as I do so. "I did not take part in the conflict though. I was bound to a place not far from here. For a long while I thought I was safe, though war has a funny way of proving people wrong. In the end, the Rachni that followed me left to take me to draw the my oppressors away, and they saved my life."

"So… how did they start? The Rachni wars?"

"With the death of my father." I didn't really want to speak about it. It's not as though I can't or don't want to remember what happened, but when you've lived long enough, you begin to realise that the most important times are right around the corner. "But that tale is for another time."

I turned and started leading them back to the shuttle, skirting around the crater for a short way before leading them through the ashen forest to the clearing. When I finally turned back around to them, I half expected them to not be there, but there they were, standing expectantly.

"If you wouldn't mind, we would like to take you with us back to Arcturus station. If you liked we could get you set up, maybe see if there are more of you?"

"I have hidden in plain sight for the past twenty years, my name changing every so often. I think it is time for a change." I reply, nodding my head slightly at the Alliance officers. "If you would let me, I will make a list of materials needed, along with design schematics and the like for my personal endeavours."

"What would we get in return for helping you?" One of the soldiers asked, his weapon resting on his shoulder in a semi arrogant pose as he spoke.

I give the soldier a harsh look, and he shuffles slightly in his armour, but doesn't move. "I will teach you about technology, if that is what you want. But I must warn you, it may seem very… alien to you."

_**AN: I know this story is pretty weak at the moment, but It's gonna get better soon... I hope anyway.**_

_**Reviews and shiz are welcome, they let me know what you think of this, good/bad etc and any ideas you have regarding the characters and whatnot that you think I should put in here.**_

_**See ya next time!**_


	4. Frenemies

****

_**AN: Sorry for the slightly late update, and that this is a lil bit shorter. I had loads written down, but I ended up hating the way the story was going and started again from scratch. Hope you enjoy this one though!**_

**Chapter 4: Frenemies**

**Year: 2183**

**Location: classified**

When you live forever, time is irrelevant.

Of course, it can still be measured in the comings and goings of the things around you, but there is nothing so concrete as a ticking clock.

I'm reassured whenever I ask, that almost four years have passed since I made a deal with the human Alliance. so far, the only people to know of my existence is numbered less than fifty. Not only does it make any possible leaks easy to track down, but most of those fifty people are researchers, scientists, engineers and the like, following the design schematics that I salvaged from times gone by or from ideas that I generated.

The armour was the easy part. Without the need for a kinetic barrier due to my 'biotics' all that was required were the designs and the materials. The design was simple enough, armour plating to cover my own with a dual bandolier design that stretched out backwards. The legs and arms were both similar, and seemed to accentuate the hard edged forms of my body, though the forearms had a line of two inch spines. The helmet was a hooded affair, with a single large ocular system on one side, and three smaller ones placed in a triangle on the other.

I had made sure that my bioluminescence would be able to show through the armour with clear patches installed over where the fire shone through me. The colour scheme was obvious as orange and black, but I didn't mind its garish nature. Putting on the full armour set when it was complete though, made me look as if I was some kind of transforming helicopter with the sharp edges of stealth technology.

Weapons on the other hand… were a little more complicated. I had to delve back in time to humanity's research into the 'coilgun' or gauss weaponry, which used powerful electromagnetic fields to deploy different types of energised material, but it was also the main form of weaponry used by my people.

The first weapon to be successful, was called the Enforcer. It was essentially an assault rifle, though the scientists had managed to adapt old mass effect weapons technology and combine it with the proposed system to make a weapon that would melt the sand grain sized chunks of metal and supercharge them, creating enough heat that only ninety rounds would burn through the unshielded hull of a mako tank.

The second weapon, was named simply. The railgun. I'm not sure if researchers had been looking for a way to make it a portable, reusable weapon since the discovery of mass effect tech, but through the use of carbon nanotubes, superconducting materials and a lot of other parts including twenty-six heat sinks, it was made possible.

Third came the darkstar. It was in essence, a black hole launcher. It weighed a lot, and required several heavy duty power cells for a single launch, but what it did was truly terrifying. To fire, the darkstar requires three seconds of charging, while two dozen capacitors collect energy, and discharge it all at once. With the introduction of strong magnetic fields, the electricity causes a destabilisation of gravity at the centre of the gun. This, is the black hole. It gets launched by using more magnetic fields, and when it is fired, the only thing able to stop the thing is nothing short of a house.

People, mechs, anything and everything can be sucked into it, but its best effect happens when physics balances itself out. The sudden extreme gravitational pull means that the black hole only lasts about ten seconds before it consumes itself, ending with an enormous release of energy, only slightly less than that of the prototyped 'Cain' launcher.

There was also a carbine variant of the Enforcer, a hand cannon which was dubbed the Rose, and others, including the Arc rifle. it was in essence, an electrical field projector. When you fired it, extreme voltages were poured out, charging the air and anything else before a capacitor generated current and the shock was enough that anything organic which was unshielded (and even sometimes armoured) would explode from the sudden energising of particles. Of course, with the science that I'd given the humans, and with their resources and drive, improvements were made in all aspects of their life. Of course, it was largely focused around military, but I know of the threat to the galaxy, and while they listened to my warnings, I do not fully believe that they have paid any attention to them, despite the news that the human, Commander Shepard, apparently defeated one.

I need to speak with the person, whoever and wherever they are.

The final thing I was paid for, for the advancement of human weapons technologies, was a small ship. It was only what most people would call a big dropship, but that meant it was plenty big enough for me to have all the amenities that I could possibly want. It was also outfitted with GUARDIAN point defense weapons, as well as a few torpedo bays, and it did also have a small ship sized rail gun that ran the length of the small ship - not more than seventy metres, at most.

Because of it's size though, it was a very fast ship. Fast and agile, and what it lacked in defensive capabilities, it made up for in maneuverability and stealth, having been given a stealth drive comparable to that of the _Normandy_. My ship though, was named the _Velkog_, or Night-demon and it's design was somewhat reminiscent of an oversized dragonfly, though the wings were fixed and housed the torpedo bays.

Considering the technology gap, and the fact that time wasn't as big an issue for us as most other races, we never really developed anything that could do long-distance interstellar travel. Interplanetary, sure, but anything further than that and we resorted to using things like solar sails, powered by several light beams on the ship to accelerate it to low percentages of the speed of light.

With the technology advancement set in motion, I decided that it was time to leave, and see if I could find my way to the Commander.

My ship departed during the space station's night cycle. Saying my goodbyes wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, though it may just have been because I have always reserved attachment for beings with shorter lives than my own, even if they span thousands of years.

I knew the area of space that the commander would be searching, as her orders to wipe out remaining Geth forces were almost as public as the destruction of the 'Geth' ship that invaded the Citadel. I needed to speak with her, if only briefly. It was a matter of the utmost importance.

The journey to the Omega nebula was short, despite sneaking through most of the Terminus systems to get there. The only problem that I actually _had_ was when I passed by Omega, and several ships picked up on my 'unidentified craft' and told me to either come with them to Omega to see Aria, or to get 'destroyed'.

One of those ships was barely larger than my own and got 'destroyed' when I fired the main gun on my ship and the round hit it's engines. The others opened fire straight away, but I had already left, giving them a message not to follow me. Despite the message, they pursued me to the edge of the system until I jumped into FTL and headed to the Amada system.

The system was fairly unremarkable, though passing by the planets reminded me of the battles that were fought here. Petty fights over resources by the Inusannon, who believed themselves masters of their galaxy. I am glad they learned the truth, but not at all that they were destroyed.

I looked through the system, scanners operating at their maximum, for only a few hours when a the floating wreckage of a ship, Id'd as the _Normandy_ came up on the scanners.

"Shit." I said out loud. I knew I was too late - the reapers, they've been here. Their black, oily scent the only clue - aside from the corpse of a ship falling to the planet below. There must be some survivors - someone to say what had happened. Perhaps they were already on the planet below?

Perhaps the Commander was with them?

I descended onto the planet an hour later, having found the distress signals of multiple lifepods on the planets surface. The planet itself was… uncomfortable. Glaciers covered the ground, though thankfully there was no storm in sight, despite the howling winds. From what I could see, the crewmembers had begun to congregate around one particular lifepod. Perhaps this was the one with the Commander in?

There was something off about the way they were grouped around it though, something that made me feel as though I hadn't arrived in time. In time to warn her of the reapers' pets.

Nevertheless, most of the crew looked skyward at my approach, some in fear, taking out weapons and tracking the ship, though for most there was a sense of hope, a renewed confidence. I suddenly became acutely aware that I was going to disappoint them as my ship landed, a side airlock opening up to reveal my armoured self to the crew.

One soldier opened fire, the bullets pinging off my barrier creating a golden shower around me. I reacted half a second later, leaping towards the woman. She stopped firing as the distance closed between us, but she got ready to strike. My wings shot out, their golden flames melting the top of the snow and ice beneath me and halting my momentum just before I reached her. The swing fell short and before she could do anything else the weapon was in my hands, unbroken, but collapsed into a non-lethal state. She snarled at me, but as my barrier strengthened again, and as I held the only weapon she had, she relented, only her foul attitude in my way now.

"Which one of you is the Commander?" I bellowed, my voice heard by all through the bitter winds. As soon as I finished, every person stuck their hand up. Well. It seems that they are all loyal to her. I stayed silent a moment longer, before inviting them all onto my ship. It would be very crowded, but I had the only shelter, and it was a very civil invitation, so I hoped that they wouldn't think I was here to kidnap them.

I turned as I reached the airlock, and stood, waiting patiently with the woman's gun still in hand. They were huddled in a group again, talking animatedly. I heard the occasional word of argument as someone raised their voice loud enough to be heard over the winds, and after a long while, a Turian approached, caution in his every step, rifle cradled in his arms, ready to be snapped up and have it's trigger pulled.

"What do you want with the Commander?" He said, his voice flanged and on edge. It was understandable seeming as their ship had just been destroyed…. but still.

"Simply to talk," I said as I gazed over the crew, noticing that there wasn't anyone that they looked to for directions. They were barely a crew anymore, merely a collection of frightened individuals, slowly freezing to death. "She isn't here, is she." It may have been a question, but it didn't sound like it.

The Turian simply stood stone still, barely moving against the fierce winds. I motioned for him to enter the ship and still he stood like rock, though after a few moments he moved hesitantly towards me.

I extended my hand in a Turian greeting, allowing for our hands to meet the other's forearm. As I did so, I placed my other hand on his shoulder, the thinner armour allowing the information to spill over just enough for basic things to come through.

"Welcome, Garrus." His armoured head spun to me, his whole body jerking away in surprise.

"How do you know my name?" He hissed, the tinny voice emitted through the helmet barely hiding suddenly angry tone of voice.

"All will be explained later. For now, you have two choices, similarly does the rest of the crew, who I assume can hear me." He gave a curt nod, and I could tell he was furrowing his brow as I spoke. "You can wait for the Alliance here, or those of you willing and able, can join me against the reapers. I know where they have gone. I know where they have taken your commander."

Almost immediately there were a few new people scrambling to enter the ship. An Asari, two humans (including the one who'd tried to shoot me) and the Turian entered the ship.

One of the humans was a very frail, feeble young man, though his attitude was full of vigour. "So do you know who the hell it was who killed my baby?"

I nodded once, knowledge of the previous cycles was like an ongoing story. I may have been written into it once upon a time, but now? Now I was hidden in between the lines. Left as a myth or a legend to tell children, maybe to frighten them into behaving.

Your people call them the Collectors. At this the Asari lights up, the expression on her face one of barely concealed delight, but also surprise and concentration as she tries and fails to connects the dots. "I once heard something about an insectoid race taking specimens for study, and there are some untranslated Prothean glyphs that may describe the same species… but… but what do they have to do with all this?"

I turned around and began to remove my armour, speaking while I moved. "The 'Collectors' are actually your precursors." They gave me a slight look of confusion at that, but kept listening as I continued, removing more armour and revealing the loosely suggested form underneath my clothes. "They are servants to the reapers, slaves, made more than fifty thousand years ago. They are what is left of the Protheans."

The people in front of me looked slightly dumb-struck, especially the Asari, who was almost tearful. The Turian, Garrus, stood and pointed a taloned finger at me, almost accusingly. "And how do _you_ know this?"

I extend my hand, he recoils slightly, but I don't reach to grab him, simply leave my hand hanging there. "It would be easier to show you, than to tell you." Tentatively, almost knowing what is to come, he reaches his own hand towards me. When our hands touch and nothing happens, he relaxes visibly. Immediately though, I pull him down and place my other hand against his head.

It's like a video set on fast forward, his own brain like a sponge, absorbing the information as quickly as it can. When it's finished, he simply says 'Oh.' and stumbles backwards, barely able to keep himself from collapsing to the floor as he finds a seat and takes it.

One by one they agree to receive the information. Ashley is next, adamant that I harmed him in some way and that she had to see for herself what it was I'd done. Foolish logic, but she accepted it almost willingly, and her reaction was no different to Garrus'. The man was next, Joker the pilot. I saw in his mind that he was suffering from a brittle bone disease, and held him before his legs failed him and set him down on a chair, his breathing short and sharp. Liara, the Asari received the information the best, though I suppose that it's because of her species' ability to 'meld' that helped her.

I felt bad knowing that I'd left behind members of the crew, but it _had_ been their choice, and the Alliance was on their way - in fact, as we left the system, several Alliance vessels appeared. Joker had asked if he could pilot the ship, and knowing it would make him slightly happier to put him at the helm, I agreed.

The others, while happy that they were going to be doing something to help their commander again, were filled with what seemed like a bloodlust, each of their faces scowling as we headed back through the Omega nebula, the Omega 4 relay barely showing signs of any activity. We weren't going to head through it though, not in this ship and not until we'd gathered a few… things.

Joker was perplexed, but followed my orders as we landed on an old planet, _xunuk_, though in this cycle I believe it was called Junthor. The crew of the normandy seemed ready to fight something, but now was not the time. I could almost gauge their reactions already to what I was about to reveal, though they already knew of what was to come… They just didn't realise it.

I made sure that we landed near to an old dig site, it was where the writing had been found.

Liara seemed to faintly recognise where we were as I left the ship, armour on and helmet re-donned. They followed me out of the ship after a few moments. Its odd thinking that we had travelled across the galaxy, but it hadn't taken more than half a day because of the damn reapers and their relays. Their highly effective, very useful relays which for some reason unbeknownst to me, the races in this cycle decided _not_ to study. Why would you not want to know how you were travelling?

My thoughts swirl in my head as we reach a very large building, huge stone pillars supporting what's left of the crumbling monument. There are shadows everywhere, despite the light shining down through the huge holes in the ceiling.

More and more pillars are non-existent or their crumbling remains can be barely seen, as though someone forcibly removed all but one in the centre of the room. When we reach it, I circle it, searching for the words. I find them there, scratched into the pillar with a jagged edge.

Liara halts by my side, pondering to herself quietly. when Ashley and Garrus appear, more annoyed that there wasn't anything to kill here. "Why the hell did you drag us down into these ruins?" Ashley says, the scowl on her face growing with each passing moment.

"I need to collect… a relic." I still didn't know yet how to reveal what it was to them without them going berserk, so I just decided that I would 'wing it' as the human expression goes. Ashley just snorts and Garrus folds his arms as though he too his losing patience. Liara however, is pouring herself over the writings, trying to figure out what they say. It's a long while before she gives up, turning to me and asking for an explanation. "I know that there is something similar in human psychology, though the name of the man escapes me. It goes something like this:" I clear my throat slightly, translating as best as I can. "Walk within these workings, and understand our greatness." I move slightly, pointing to a new set of words. "From the monsters of within."

The others just stare blankly, though they start to shift, a new sensation has fallen on me, and I know that we're being watched. I call out into the shadows, hoping that it is who I need, and hoping that they are still well. "_Aphra? Kuna boye a cikin inuwa_?" My voice echoes through the dark, and suddenly there is a dispelling light as something moves forwards, it's movements almost hidden by the shadows, except for a few glints of light, shining dully off of a cracked a bent metal surface.

"_Vejr? Ni haihuwa maigidanka. Kun hagu ni nan har wata dogon lokaci."_ The voice that filled the room was definitely something mechanical, from the quiet synthetic gargling noises that were emitted in between words.

I could feel the others beside me reeling back in fear, and although I could understand why they were doing it, I didn't share in their movements. Instead, I walked into the shadows, a faint glow surrounding me, illuminating my profile against the darkness.

"_Dangina kusa kasala fatan, tunanin cewa, dangina ka manta game da ni."_ The robotic voice spoke again, a slightly soothing tone of voice, though it seemed as though it was _too_ soothing, like it was all an act.

"_Aphra, ina bukatan taimako, kuma za ka yi mini ɗã'ã. Ni ne shugaban zuciya._" I say back, my words forceful, and the result is a small hiss from the machine, barely fifteen meters away now. I know that it's probably angry, and at the will of her baser desires, but I am not perturbed by the display.

In a flash, it lunges, a long, mechanical arm lashing out into the light, the end where a wrist and hand should be is simply a tangled mess of broken metals, wires and tubing, the tip sharpened into a point. I try my hardest not to flinch as the lunge brings her closer and closer to me, until it stops dead, mere inches from my face.

"What the hell is that?"


End file.
